“Sienna.”

Her mother was speaking loudly enough for Sienna to hear over the music, but she ignored her anyway. She stared down at the screen in her hand, scrolling through her playlist and refusing to meet her mother’s gaze. Her mother, Laura, was always worrying, always asking questions and then throwing out advice like it was an imperial decree. Even when Sienna had turned eighteen her mother had continued to insist that every rule from her childhood was still obeyed, including never going to friend’s houses alone and calling to check in every hour. Having recently graduated from high school, and watched all her friends get ready to leave for college, Sienna was over it. She wasn’t going to college, enrolled to complete credits online instead. Her mother didn’t want her moving out of home to go to school, something that had caused more than one bitter argument between them. It was as if Laura couldn’t survive without controlling Sienna’s every action. Sometimes she’d just sit her down in the kitchen and look out the window while talking endlessly about all the various things that could go wrong.

“Sienna!”

She ripped her ear buds out and glared at her mother. “What?”

Laura took a step backward. A sad look crossed her face, but Sienna refused to lose her scowl. “I’m making fried chicken. Do you want to come downstairs and eat with me?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Laura sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“I made myself a sandwich this afternoon.”

“Oh,” Laura turned around and started folding the pile of clothes Sienna had left on the foot of the bed. “I just thought it would be nice to have a meal together.”

“I said, I’m not hungry.” Sienna looked back down at her screen, putting in an ear bud.

“I just—I feel like we don’t ever talk anymore. We’re so disconnected.”

“I’m busy, Mom.”

Laura’s head dropped and she turned to leave. At the last moment she seemed to change her mind, turning and resting her hand along the door jam. “Are you going out tonight?”

“What does it matter?”

“I don’t want you caught up with that boy, Sienna. He’s not right for you.”

Sienna stood, shoving her cell phone in her back pocket and grabbing a denim jacket. “Okay, I’m done. I don’t want to hear it again, Mom. You don’t know the first thing about Tony.”

“I know he’s been partying at the apartment complex on Sixth.”

“So?”

“The only reason people go there is to get drugs.”

Sienna picked up her purse and shoved past her mother, quickening her pace down the stairs. Her mother had no idea. She wasn’t into drugs, and neither was Tony. He just wanted to get away from home, like she did. So what if he drank a little? Didn’t matter if she did either. God knows after years of listening to her mother she knew how to protect herself. Not that she ever got the chance. Laura didn’t trust her. She was always hovering, like she was waiting for something terrible to happen. It was suffocating.

She pushed out the front door and took a deep breath, the cool air of the evening clearing her head. She walked out of her gate and down the road, each house like the previous. They lived in a perfect cookie cutter neighborhood, pristine houses with no soul and their inhabitants hiding behind a middle class facade. Sienna wanted to be in the middle of it all, with real people dealing with real problems, not just hiding away from everything the way Laura wanted them to.

As soon as she was clear of the view of her house she pulled out her phone and texted Tony that she was on her way. They were supposed to be heading to Jerry’s that night for a barbecue, and so she could eat there. She’d take that any day over stony silence or another tense argument with her mother. Tony lived two blocks over, and could have picked her up at home, but she needed the walk to calm down. The light breeze continued to blow, ruffling her long blond hair.

Things were easier when she wasn’t at home. She didn’t need to hide inside her headphones just to avoid another discussion she didn’t want to have. She could be herself without worrying her every move was being monitored. She looked upward at the first twinkling stars of the evening, thanking whoever was up there that her mom at least let her go out locally by herself. They lived in a small town, and everyone knew everyone else. If she didn’t have that, Sienna would have lost it a long time ago.

Tony was waiting outside his place, wearing his signature skinny jeans, his black hair swept over one eye. “Hey.” He walked over and kissed her.

“God, she’s driving me crazy.” Sienna didn’t have to tell Tony who she was talking about. He knew.

“I know, baby. Let’s get out of here.”

“So we’re going to the barbecue?”

“I thought it’d be fun.” Sienna turned to walk to his car and Tony slapped her on the ass.

“Hey!”

“What?” He met her gaze with a grin and then climbed in the driver’s side, unlocking the other door to let her in. Sienna leaned back in the seat. She had thought that once they were on the road she’d relax, but all she could see in her mind was her mother sighing in the kitchen. She let out a loud sigh of her own.

“Sometimes I really hate her, Tony.”

“Yeah?” He glanced over at her briefly before returning his gaze to the road.

“She doesn’t understand me, at all. All she does is talk about how I need to be careful, all these rules. She’s totally paranoid.”

“I know.”

“I’m an adult, for fuck’s sake. I shouldn’t have to follow all these rules anymore.”

Tony reached down and turned the radio volume up to full blast. Sienna slapped his hand and turned it back down. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Of course I am.” He took her hand. “But Babe, this is nothing new. Let’s just have fun tonight, hey?”

She scowled, then forced herself to let it go. Tony was right. She’d gone out to get away from it all, not talk about it all night. “Alright.” He reached over and turned the radio back up. Music usually helped her mood, but tonight all it did was irritate her. She rolled the window down and let the breeze in again. At least that was still feeling good. She watched the desert pass by her window until Tony finally made the turn into The Chateau. The real name of the place was Casa del Rio, but everyone called it by the nickname. There were three floors of rickety catwalks and bedrooms, each with their rusty window units straining to keep the apartments cool. Sienna followed Tony to the courtyard, where a group of people already sat around a cracked concrete table. They were greeted warmly and Tony jumped right into the conversation, moving through the different circles, greeting everyone. Sienna, still feeling the hangover from the latest argument with her mother, stuck to the sidelines. Just as she was starting to get mad at Tony for disappearing on her, her friend Maddie walked in from the parking lot. A six pack dangled from her hands and she set it down in front of Sienna. “Hey, Girl.”

“Hey.”

“What’s eating you?”

“Nothing.” Sienna poked at the ground with her shoe. “Just sick of living at home.”

“So ditch it. I’m thinking of getting a one bedroom over on Palm Court. You can live with me.”

“But I don’t have a job, or a car—nothing.”

Maddie laughed. “So get off your ass and get one.” She passed Sienna a bottle. “Hard cider, it’ll make you feel better.”

“Any good?” she asked. “And I can’t get a job. It’s not allowed. Another damn rule.” She took a sip, the crisp taste rushing over her tongue. How many of these would she need before she’d finally relax? She took another sip, and then a swig. Maddie continued to plan their great escape into their own apartment, but Sienna paid little attention. She’d thought the night would be fun, but now, everything was bugging her. She was only there because Tony wanted to go. She’d move in with him in a heartbeat if he asked. He was her escape, the dark knight of her daydreams, ready to spirit her away at a moment’s notice. She trusted him, and that was rare for her. Along with her mother’s endless rules had also come seemingly endless talks on how you couldn’t trust anyone but the two of them. Leaving Maddie still talking, Sienna stood and walked into the smoke-filled apartment, where a group of guys sat on a couch, taking turns with a three-foot-long bong. She wrinkled her nose. As much as she liked to rile up her mother, drugs weren’t her thing. Thankfully, Tony wasn’t among them. She approached Jerry, one of his friends. His eyes were so bloodshot she had no idea if he could even see straight. “Have you seen Tony tonight?”

He ducked his head before answering. “Dunno.”

“Come on Jerry, where is he?”

“I don’t know!” He fidgeted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ask him.”

Sienna rolled her eyes, giving up. “I’ll do that, Asshole. As soon as I find him,” she muttered under her breath as she searched through the adjoining rooms. The bathroom was empty—and completely disgusting—as was the kitchen. She did not want to know what had gone down in either of those. It was when she opened the bedroom door that she stopped short. Her mouth fell open and she jerked back. “Motherfucker!” She turned and ran.

“Sienna. It’s not what you think!” Tony cried, tripping over his pants as he chased after her.

Sure. She’d just imagined seeing him half naked, standing behind a redhead on her hands and knees, pounding into her. Fucker hadn’t even bothered to take off his shirt. She was halfway down the stairs, vision blurred, when she crashed into Maddie.

Stupid fucking tears.

“Sienna, what’s wrong?” Maddie looked past her. “Is that Tony up there?”

She pushed past Maddie, finally able to breathe again back in the cool air of the evening. “Take me home.”

“What the hell happened?”

“Just take me home!”

“Okay, okay. You got it.” Maddie held up her hands and Sienna groaned.

“God, I’m sorry. Just . . . it’s just . . . that asshole!”

Maddie wrapped her arm around Sienna’s shoulders, guiding her to a car. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. They’re all fuckers, every last one.”

Ha! He was definitely fucking someone. God, she didn’t even know the other girl’s name. Did Tony?

“So what’d he do?” Maddie asked as she turned the key and put the car in drive, grinding the gears.

“What the fuck do you think?”

“Son of a bitch! I’m sorry, Sienna.” Maddie thumped the dash. Sienna sniffled, happy to let someone else take over angry. She was quickly moving on to grabbing an entire gallon of ice cream and sitting on the couch with a girly movie and crying her eyes out. Tony hadn’t just been a high school fling, at least he hadn’t been to her. He’d made his feelings abundantly clear about ten minutes ago. God, they’d talked about what they were going to do when the summer was over. He wasn’t going to college, either. He was going to get a job and save to buy an RV, and then they’d drive all over the country together. Sienna had never traveled anywhere before.

They drove in silence. After they’d hashed through the righteous anger at being cheated on, Sienna didn’t feel much like talking. Maddie did seem sympathetic, at least. She kept looking over at Sienna, as if she wanted to make sure she wasn’t about to do something stupid.

Sienna sighed. She might have been a complete idiot to miss all the signs that Tony was a fuckwit, but she knew where her anger belonged. It was just a shame that she couldn’t make sure Tony knew exactly how hurt she was. Her mother would be pretty upset if she got arrested.

“Will you text me in the morning?” Maddie asked, pulling up outside Sienna’s house. “Just to make sure you’re okay?”

“Sure.” Sienna climbed out and slammed the door. Maddie must have taken it as a sign to get out of there as quickly as possible, and she peeled away from the curb before Sienna had even started up the walk. The lights were still on inside the house, which meant her mother was waiting up for her, probably wanting to talk about their argument earlier. Sienna didn’t want to talk things through. She wanted to run up to her room, dive under the quilt, and stay there for the rest of her life. How was she going to face her mother after what had just happened? As much as Sienna hated to admit it, her mother had been right. Too right. She just hadn’t wanted to hear about it. She swallowed, swiping at her still-wet cheeks. Maybe her mother wasn’t just making shit up to piss her off. What else might she be right about?

She hovered on the path, checking her phone for no reason, just swiping through the screens. She couldn’t put off going inside forever. Sooner or later Laura would spot her from inside the house and step out onto the porch and then there’d be no avoiding the conversation. She could always try to go around back, but the gate was usually locked—and squealed like a pig when you tried to move it. Why hadn’t her mom ever fixed that? No, she’d just have to cross her fingers and go in through the front. It was late. Laura wasn’t usually up past midnight. She must have fallen asleep on the couch and left the lights on. It wasn’t until her feet hit the porch that Sienna realized she couldn’t hear the TV. Her feet stopped moving, then she took a step back, the boards creaking under her feet.

Nope. It was too late to come up with another plan. She may as well just go inside. Maybe she could run up to her room before her mom saw her. She walked to the door, pulling her key out of her pocket, sliding it into the lock.

The door gave way with the slightest touch.

Her mom would never just leave the front door open.

She pushed the door open the rest of the way. The house was quiet. There was no dishwasher, no air conditioning. Nothing. She crept forward, her breath racing in and out so fast it made her dizzy.

Sienna turned right and walked through the foyer into the living room. The lights were on there, the TV sitting silently with a DVD menu still on the screen. The air was hot and raw, raising goose bumps on her arms despite the heat. As she took another step into the room the air kicked in and she jumped from the sudden chill. A spot of red caught her eye, and then a streak, leading past the coffee table. A whimper escaped her throat and she stopped moving. She stood there for what seemed like forever, frozen in her living room. The thoughts crept in of their own volition, driving her feet forward in slow motion. She didn’t want to know, but she had to.

A hand came into view: pale, blue flesh. It had once been soft and beautiful; now it was hard and cold. Then an arm, covered in deep, thin cuts—Sienna jumped back—one went down to the bone. Another step further revealed gray hair. She rushed then, everything coming into view in seconds. Her mother, the woman who had taken care of her, held Sienna in her arms as a baby, lying lifeless on the floor. Dull eyes stared right at her, as if accusing her of killing her. In a way, she had. She had put that tiny hole in her mother’s forehead. She had slashed at her arms and broken her twisted fingers. A gasp escaped her, then a sob. It was all her fault. If she hadn’t argued with her again, if she hadn’t run out . . . if she’d just stayed home like her mom had wanted!

Sienna shrieked. She picked up a glass vase that had been toppled off the broken coffee table and hurled it at the wall. It shattered on impact and shards of glass flew across the room, covering the carpet and furniture. Something sharp stung her face and Sienna collapsed onto her knees. “Please, God, no.” Her arms wrapped around her body as she swayed back and forth, repeating the words over and over, until all she could do was whisper. Exhausted, she fell onto the ground, ignoring the tiny shards of glass piercing her skin. That was nothing.

God, she was all alone. She’d gotten her wish.

“Miss?” The voice grated on her ears.

“Fuck off,” she whispered.

“Miss, are you okay?” The static from a police radio echoed around the room. Hands slipped beneath her and strong arms lifted her to her feet. She swayed, fighting to maintain her balance.

Her mother was gone, and she’d never see her again.

Fuck. Why the hell could she have just not argued? Just once.

“Miss, what happened here tonight?”

She opened her eyes. The cop was staring at her, his forehead creased with concern.

“I don’t know.”

“When did you get home? Was someone here?”

“No.” She shook her head, stumbling, and the cop reached out to steady her. “They must have . . . it happened while I was gone. I found her when I got home.”

“Any enemies that you know of, anyone want to hurt you or your mom?”

“No.”

He frowned at her. “Any ties to any gangs?”

“No! No. She was . . . no, nothing like that.” She stepped back, narrowly missing a larger shard of glass that would have pierced her shoe.

“I need you to come out front with me, let the paramedics check you over and then take your statement.”

She swallowed. “Am I being arrested?”

“No.” His tone was sharp, but then he looked back at her and his expression softened. “We just need to know what happened here, who hurt your mom, okay?”

“Okay.” Sienna somehow found her feet and followed him outside.